Decrease in circulating endothelial progenitor cells in patients with stable coronary artery disease.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to K Muroi.
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A 59-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of disturbance of consciousness and hyponatremia. The patient had suffered from acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) with 46,XY and received chemotherapy for 5 years. Meningeal carcinomatosis was diagnosed due to the detection of carcinoma cells in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Hyponatremia was caused by syndrome of inappropriate secretion of anti-diuretic hormone (SIADH). Bone marrow examination revealed myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with deletion of the long arm of chromosome 7. Emergence of a new abnormal clone was suggested. The patient died from brain herniation. Post mortem examination showed adenocarcinoma in the colon. An association between chemotherapy and both colon cancer and MDS was suggested.
A 67-year-old woman was treated for acute myelogenous leukemia with trilineage dysplasia (AML-TLD) by combination chemotherapy with cytarabine, aclarubicin plus macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) (referred to as CAM therapy). Complete remission was achieved after two courses of CAM therapy. After coculture of her bone marrow mononuclear cells with M-CSF in vitro, differentiation of leukemic cells into macrophages with apoptotis was observed. This case confirms an earlier report that an effect of M-CSF inducible by differentiation with apoptotic phenomena, against human leukemic cells was shown both in vitro and in vivo when achieving complete remission.
Idarubicin (IDR) has been used as the main drug in induction chemotherapy for acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) in the USA and Europe. Between May 1995 and October 1998, we treated 41 cases of fresh AML using IDR induction chemotherapy and analyzed the clinical course, remission rate, relapse rate and prognosis. The results obtained in these cases were similar to those in 26 cases treated with daunorubicin (DNR) in our hospital according to JALSG-AML92. The outcome in cases with abnormal chromosomes and cases showing relapse was very poor. In particular, all 5 t(8;21) cases in our series relapsed, suggesting that t(8;21) cannot be considered a favorable prognostic factor in cases treated with IDR-containing regimens. However, 3 of the 5 t(8;21) cases were positive for CD56, which itself is an unfavorable prognostic factor. Thus it is possible that CD56 was related to the poor outcome. Intensive post-remission induction chemotherapies will be required in order to obtain prolonged disease-free survival.
High-end graphics workstations (GWS) have been used for surgical simulators utilizing Computer Graphics (CG) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies. This is because the simulators need lots of computing power, mainly for collision detection among objects modeled as a set of polygons. In this paper, we propose to use mathematical functions to model objects for collision detection. However, for graphic display we continue to use polygonal representation. Using the new model, we have developed a PC based ocular surgery simulator, which creates realistic surgery image in real-time. The computation time was found to be much lower than that in the conventional method.
OBJECTIVE: To reduce the surgical risks to patients and expose surgeons to surgical experience and complications, we have developed a practical system of vitreous surgery using virtual-reality technology. METHODS: The system is composed of high-resolution color stereo binoculars, haptic devices, foot switches, and a high-speed graphics computer. To simulate vitreous surgery, we created several virtual patient eyes with retinal diseases such as preretinal membranes and subretinal neovascular tissue at the fovea. RESULTS: The simulator provided the trainees with an operating environment similar to an actual one, and allowed them to learn to maneuver surgical instruments and remove proliferative tissue on the retina, under the retina, or both. This system allowed surgeons to avoid iatrogenic complications through visual signs such as retinal hemorrhage when the instrument contacted the retinal surface. CONCLUSIONS: This simulator may not only be suitable for residents to learn ocular surgical techniques but may also allow veteran surgeons to develop new surgical methods and skills.
A patient with a Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-positive acute mixed-lineage leukemia (AMLL) expressing both major and minor BCR/ABL mRNA transcripts is described. Phenotypic analysis of the leukemic blasts revealed positivity for both myeloid and B-cell lineages. Southern blot analysis showed a rearrangement of the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) gene. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis showed the expression of both major and minor BCR/ABL mRNA transcripts. To our knowledge, this is the first report of AMLL expressing both major and minor BCR/ABL mRNA transcripts and rearrangement of the IgH gene.
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A 22-year-old female with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in complete remission received a conditioning regimen containing antithymocyte globulin for an unrelated bone marrow transplant (BMT). After BMT, the patient suffered from cytomegalovirus (CMV) pneumonitis with markedly high levels of CMV antigenemia, activated prothrombin time (APTT) prolongation, and subacute thyroiditis. Recovery of CD4+ cells was delayed as long as 1 year after BMT. An association between these three episodes and viral infection due to the delayed recovery of CD4+ cells is suggested.
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Flow cytometric, immunochemical and molecular studies were performed on leukemic blasts from a patient with minimally differentiated erythroleukemia (AML-M6v). The blasts expressed CD36 and CD71 but not lymphoid antigens, myeloid antigens, CD41 or glycophorin A. Analysis of carbohydrate antigens showed that the blasts expressed the sialyl-Tn antigen. Immunochemistry revealed that the blasts had neuron-specific enolase (NSE). Serum sialyl-Tn and NSE levels were markedly increased. Finally, an erythroid lineage was confirmed in the presence of alpha-globin messages in the blasts. Sialyl-Tn and NSE expression in leukemic blasts may be useful to identify AML-M6v.
We conducted a pilot study on autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) for 11 adults with B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in first complete remission (CR) or even in those with more advanced stages. All patients achieved CR by induction therapy, of whom 10 were treated with anthracycline, vincristine and prednisolone-based regimens. After consolidation therapy, all patients except one received high-dose cytarabine followed by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) administration to collect PBSCs. Ten patients received busulfan 4 mg/kg for 4 days, etoposide 20 mg/kg for 3 days and ranimustine 200 mg/m2 for 2 days as a conditioning regimen. One received a regimen consisting of etoposide, cyclophosphamide and total body irradiation. From day 1, G-CSF was given intravenously, and no additional chemotherapy was administered. At the median follow-up time of 30.8 months, four of six patients with standard-risk B-lineage ALL survived within the range of 19.7 to 85.4 months without relapse. In contrast, only one of five with high-risk B-lineage ALL survived for 36.3 months without relapse. Autologous PBSCT as post-remission therapy may prolong CR in adults with standard-risk B-lineage ALL.
Prednisolone (PSL) is widely used for the treatment of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). We compared the effects of a relatively low dose (0.5 mg/kg/day, LD group) of PSL and the conventional dose (1.0 mg/kg/day, CD group) on 59 ITP patients. Twenty-six patients were treated with low-dose PSL, and 23 patients with the conventional dose. No statistically significant difference was observed in the complete remission rates for the LD group (35%) and the CD group (39%). However, the mean duration of hospitalization was significantly (p < 0.001) shorter for LD group patients than for patients in the CD group (20 days versus 50 days, respectively). In conclusion, low-dose PSL may be as effective as the conventional dose and capable of reducing the cost of hospitalization, thus, improving the quality of life for patients with ITP.
We describe herein two newly diagnosed patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), who were treated twice with an idarubicin hydrochloride (IDR)-containing regimen as a response-orientated induction therapy. Both patients had severe gastrointestinal tract hemorrhage complications at their nadir. The two patients were as follows: a 35-year-old male, FAB-M4, and a 47-year-old female, FAB-M0. They received the same induction chemotherapy (IDR 12 mg/m2 for four days and cytarabine 100 mg/m2 for ten days). No response (NR) was obtained in either, so they underwent the same regimen again. During the period of myelosuppression, they developed severe gastrointestinal hemorrhage. One died of sepsis, and the other of acute respiratory distress syndrome without a recovery in bone marrow. The fetal gastrointestinal tract complications may have been due to severe myelosuppression and mucosal damage in these patients. Careful observation will be needed to prevent such severe complications after the treatment with IDR.
We present the system design and the methods of video-based guidance to assist with brain tumor biopsy procedures. The system comprises of a three-dimensional (3-D) position sensor, a CCD camera, a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a graphics computer equipped with a video capture board. The markers for positional measurement are attached to the CCD camera, a surgical tool, and the patient head. In order to be integrated into the camera-viewing capacity, 3-D images of the head and guidance indicators are visualized to form a life like video image. For reliable guidance, we also use the surgical plan, called the "safety map", which is a sphere surface highlighting the covering area of anatomically significant tissues and obstacles around the target for the indication of the biopsy needle's insertion starting-point. The safety map can be visualized in exactly the same way as it would be in a real life situation. The preliminary experiments were performed at the National Cancer Center. A high degree of flexibility in terms of views was created by using general apparatuses which are a CCD camera and a LCD. The display of the safety map enabled a successful completion of both craniotomy and biopsy needle insertion procedures.
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A 20-year-old woman visited a nearby hospital because of sudden, severe, and unusual genital bleeding. She also exhibited severe anemia and thrombocytopenia. In transit to our hospital, the patient suddenly suffered cardiac arrest and died soon thereafter despite immediate blood transfusion and therapeutic intubation. Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) was initially diagnosed at autopsy due to the observation of numerous fragmented erythrocytes in peripheral blood, evidence of hemolysis, and thrombotic microangiopathy in multiple organs. In addition, histopathologic and serologic findings disclosed an association with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Test for anticardiolipin antibody was positive, and hemophagocytic findings were detected in lymph node specimens. Reports of TTP in association with SLE have been increasing in recent years. However, the mechanisms correlating these two illnesses have not been identified. We speculated that the rapid clinical course in this case was attributable to TTP that had been provoked by endothelial microangiopathy due to SLE, and moreover, the fact that the patient's general condition had been seriously complicated by excessive menstrual bleeding.
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